Hi there, UK&I is General audit throughout UK & Ireland. FS relates to financial services (banks, investment companies, other financial firms) audit.
Therefore the key differential is the type of industry/clients you will be working on.

18 September, 2017 08:03

To expand on what Emily says above, there are a few practical differences between working in UK&I and FS Assurance. You still have the same end goal - of providing users of financial statements reasonable assurance that our clients' statements are accurate - but you might do this in a slightly different way.

For instance, if you're working on a client which makes soft-drinks (UK&I), you might focus on testing that their sales revenue is accurate; that their equipment exists and is in good working condition; and that their inventory (soft-drinks) figures are accurate. Part of the process of verifying inventory is doing a physical inventory observation (i.e. a stock count) to ensure that goods are there. If you work in UK&I Assurance, you'll do counts throughout your first few years (the majority being close to December, as that is when many clients have their year-ends). You'll also likely work with clients in a variety of different industries, which is appealing if you want to learn more about how different businesses/industries operate.

On the other hand, in FS assurance you'll be working with clients that make money through investments and other financial services. Think of a bank - while they will have office equipment, buildings, staff, etc. which can be audited, some of the key figures on their statements will be investment income, investment holdings, and cash. Therefore, you cannot simply turn up to the bank and ask to see their investments; instead, you would work alongside other FS colleagues to ensure that their investments are real and performing as stated. The risks you focus on might be different as well - if you are working with an investment firm, they might be more vulnerable to changes in interest rates or stock market regulations. If you work in Financial Services, you typically specialise in a certain aspect of FS (such as pension schemes or wealth & asset management), although you are still exposed to other aspects during engagements.

Overall, I would say that UK&I Assurance gives you more variety in terms of the clients/industries you work with, and allows you to gain exposure to different aspects of a business. On the other hand, FS allows you to become more specialised on a certain aspect of the business (e.g. their pension scheme), and also allows you to work with global financial firms.

10 January, 2025 11:01